A quick checklist then for your first Google Docs session.
Get all of your passwords and usernames ready to hand – you will almost always have to refer to them. If you are using Ed Apps then you will have already made a CSV file for a bulk upload.
Use a simple sheet to share the username and passwords with the class – writing them out yourself might be time consuming but saves problems with children writing them incorrectly.
Do a quick login on the school computers using a child’s account – remind yourself of the process. Does it behave the same?
Remember that on the first login there is a security question in which children will have to enter a spam filtering word. We needed to support lots of children with this.
Have a document already shared with the class, so that when they open their Docs Home there is something there.
Use a shared Doc to begin with to demonstrate the collaborative nature of Docs – use Spreadsheets if you are expecting more then 10 simultaneous users.
Keep it simple and easy like the My Favourite idea I used today.
Before you get into the document show the children around the Docs Home screen.
Demonstrate how the different views or filters on your documents changes the view. This is often a problem when children think someone has hacked their account and deleted everything, but they haven’t clicked on ALL ITEMS. Good to take time to demo this.
Show children that there is a right click menu on the documents.
When viewing a document talk about how it is automatically saved and how each change is logged and can be viewed.
Explain how important it is to SIGN OUT at the end of the session.